Pumi

Alert and busy, devoted at home, readily vocal.
A Pumi
Photo: Frantseï Blè
Adult male
10–15 kg
22–33 lb
Adult female
8–13 kg
18–29 lb
Lifespan
12–13 yrs
Class · Working
also Sport

What it's like

In temperament the Pumi is alert, quick and busy, closely attached to its own people and reserved with strangers. It is a keen watchdog and readily vocal, a trait that suited its working past. The coat is usually kept in shape by combing, wetting and letting it dry naturally, with occasional trimming.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Very vocal
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is a Pumi right for you?
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Living with one

It has a curly coat. Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on brushing a few times a week, plus clipping every 6–8 weeks. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Pumi is a medium dog, heavier than a Pug and lighter than a Cocker Spaniel. Males end up clearly heavier than females. It is one of the lightest medium breeds.

The Pumi is a lightly built, squarely proportioned dog with a long, narrow head, upright ears whose tips fold forward, and a tail curled over the back. Its coat of wavy hair, a mix of harsh and softer strands, forms distinctive corkscrew curls and never cords like the Puli's. Colours include grey, black, fawn and white, and grey puppies are usually born black and lighten as they mature.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Pumi puppy is already as heavy as a grown Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
10 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight6
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
0510152m4m6m9m12m18m
0510152m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
2.5–3.8 kg 5.5–8.4 lb
2.3–3.7 kg 5.1–8.2 lb
3 months
3.4–5.2 kg 7.5–11.5 lb
2.9–4.7 kg 6.4–10.4 lb
4 months
4.9–7.3 kg 10.8–16.1 lb
3.9–6.4 kg 8.6–14.1 lb
5 months
6.0–9.0 kg 13.2–19.8 lb
4.7–7.7 kg 10.4–17.0 lb
6 months
6.9–10.4 kg 15.2–22.9 lb
5.4–8.8 kg 11.9–19.4 lb
7 months
7.7–11.5 kg 17.0–25.4 lb
5.9–9.6 kg 13.0–21.2 lb
8 months
8.2–12.3 kg 18.1–27.1 lb
6.3–10.2 kg 13.9–22.5 lb
9 months
8.6–12.9 kg 19.0–28.4 lb
6.6–10.7 kg 14.6–23.6 lb
10 months
8.9–13.3 kg 19.6–29.3 lb
6.9–11.1 kg 15.2–24.5 lb
11 months
9.1–13.7 kg 20.1–30.2 lb
7.1–11.5 kg 15.7–25.4 lb
12 months
9.3–14.0 kg 20.5–30.9 lb
7.2–11.8 kg 15.9–26.0 lb
15 months
9.7–14.5 kg 21.4–32.0 lb
7.6–12.4 kg 16.8–27.3 lb
18 months
10–15 kg 22–33 lb
7.9–12.9 kg 17.4–28.4 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Pumis live yet. The 12–13 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

Its FCI standard dates the Pumi to 17th- and 18th-century Hungary, where the old Puli was crossed with prick-eared terriers imported from Germany and France. It herds and will kill vermin like a terrier, an inheritance that also shows in its muzzle and tipped ears. For a time treated as a variety of the Puli, it has been bred apart since Emil Raitsitz separated the two in 19204,7.

The Pumi developed as a farm dog in western Hungary, especially Transdanubia, where small holdings needed a quick, versatile helper. After its separation from the Puli, Hungarian breeders fixed its type during the twentieth century, and the FCI recognised it as a distinct breed. It later spread to Finland and more recently to North America and Britain. It was bred to drive and gather cattle, sheep and pigs, often in tight spaces, working close to the stock and using its voice freely.

Breed standard

The Pumi is judged against standard no. 56, in group 1, Sheepdogs and Cattledogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Pumi figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

Puli
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Mudi
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Small
Pyrenean Shepherd
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Small
Or compare the Pumi with any breed you choose
Track your own Pumi
Log a minute a day and watch them sit on these curves. Free.

Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·